Monday, July 14, 2014

Are You Okay?

It’s been a hard question to answer lately. Although I truly
appreciate the caring phone calls and emails I find it hard to respond.
Normally an optimistic and positive person, I am very uncomfortable admitting
that life is not so great right now in Israel. For the last month tension has
become the norm. Yet, along with the
anxiety and stress we are turning together more and more to HaShem and that
gives me hope. I pray that our unity continues.

Last week, on the second day of the current war, I attended
a brit milah in the holy city of Safed. With its ancient synagogues,
winding alleys, colorful artist’s colony, and vibrant population Safed is a
most special place. The hesder yeshiva where the brit was held is a most unique
place inside this special city. Under the leadership of Rav Ayal boys from all
over Israel commit themselves to the army for five years. Part of those years
they are obligated to learn in the yeshiva and be prepared to be called into
service at a moment’s notice. Part of the years is spent in active duty. At the
time of the brit a number of the young men had been called up to war and were
missing from the yeshiva.

No gathering in this yeshiva is complete without singing. As
those gathered waited for all the family members to arrive there was singing
and dancing accompanied by guitars and drums. Finally the moment came for the
ceremony to begin. The uncle of the baby, a soldier in uniform who had received
a few hours’ leave for the occasion, took the baby from his wife and handed him
to the baby’s father. It was HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu, son of HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu,
ztz"l, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, who was the sandek,
the godfather. Rav Ayal, from a prominent Ashkenazi family, pronounced the
blessings. The two grandfathers, one an Israeli-born sabra from a
Moroccan family and the other an America immigrant from an Eastern European
family, held the baby for various parts of the service.

The two grandfathers with the uncle behind them

As we sang the pleas, HaShem save us now,HaShem
save us now, HaShem bring us success now, HaShem bring us success now, I
was moved to tears. Would HaShem hear our appeal? How would He answer us? I
looked around the room and saw all the many different representatives of the
Jewish people gathered together to usher the little baby into the covenant of
Avraham. We were united in love and caring. Surely that would impress the Holy
One.

In the midst of war we are poised to enter The Three Weeks
that lead up to Tisha B’Av, the solemn, sad day on which we commemorate the
destruction of both the first and second Holy Temples.Our sages teach
that the Second Temple was destroyed because of senseless hatred. Until today
we are a fractured people finding reasons to quarrel about every little thing.
However, the eighteen days that Ayal, Naftali, and Gil-ad were missing we
became an united people who agreed that we needed to pray to our Maker and
plead for Him to bring the boys home. They came home, not the way we wanted,
but they did come home.

And then, a week later in week in Safed a number of us,
secular and religious, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, soldiers and civilians, young
and old were united. We all agreed that it was important to escort the little baby
to become part of the Jewish people. May we only have more and more such gatherings.
Then this could be the year that, instead of fasting on Tisha B’Av, we will
celebrate the arrival of the Moshiach.

1 comment:

Aim of Blog

Emunah, faith in God, does not mean believing only good things will happen; it means believing that whatever God does is for the best. I wrote these words at a time when drive-by shootings and suicide bombers had become almost weekly, if not daily, tragedies. Now, more than ten years later, the words are no less true. Whatever HaShem does is for the best. It is my hope to post articles, advice, and homey stories everyweekwhich will reinforce this fact. And now, a special thanks to:

Batya Medad, my neighbor and experienced blogger. Without her I would never have been able to set up

About Me

Born in Wichita, Kansas, I became a Baalat Teshuva, newly religious, in Phoenix, Arizona while attending ASU. After twelve years of marriage my husband and I made Aliyah with five children and settled in Shilo in the heart of Israel. Two more children joined the family as have daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, and grandchildren, Baruch HaShem. My favorite past times are learning, sewing, hiking, reading, cooking, baking, enjoying my family and friends, and, of course, writing. My first novel, Sondra’s Search, was published in 2007 and I am working on the sequel.